While some may say that purity culture is old news, the intensity and severity with which abstinence is preached in some religious spheres is not always recognised. As right-wing ideologies seem to be increasing in popularity recently, especially in the United States, Simone McAlonen (the star of this show) opens the pink, sticker-covered diary of her adolescent years to illuminate just how children and young people were groomed into this particular school of thought.
Just as I took my seat in the small studio, McAlonen came around the audience offering “a sucker for Christ?” with a broad grin and a tub full of brightly coloured, cross shaped lollies. Shortly after, she played a clip of a news programme from the time the Rajneesh cult compound was converted into the ‘Big Muddy’ Camp in rural Oregon. This is where she would live during the summers of her teenage years. The actress twirled about the space in her shiny cowboy boots with a pitched-up voice and all the giggles of a boy-crazy tween. “Dear Diary…” she would say, and I’d brace myself for a painfully accurate glimpse into her – and what felt like my own – teenage mind.
However, it was not all innocent crushes and sunshine, no matter how many songs, “abstinence raps,” or camp skits, both the audience and teenage McAlonen were distracted by. Despite being slightly rough around the edges, they definitely emulated adolescent awkwardness, whether that was the performer’s intention or not. Every so often, the actress snapped back to the present, and back to the reality of the situation: assuming the role of a camp leader, there was a demonstration involving Kool Aid (a clever nod to the ironically cultish history of the compound) as a metaphor for abstinence. This transpired to be what the children were taught at summer camp to encourage abstinence from a young age. Excerpts from the star’s diary highlighted the constant anxiety she felt surrounding this topic, even in entries from when she was as young as twelve.
As the hour came to an end, I couldn’t help but feel proud of McAlonen and her inner child for realising her dreams of becoming a star, because she really did shine.
Wild Wild Christian is running until 29 August at Willow Studio at Greenside @ Riddles Court. Buy tickets here.
Image provided by Midnight Flâneur as press material.
